The owners of a nursing home in which 34 elderly patients died during Hurricane Katrina have been charged with negligent homicide after they allegedly refused an offer to help evacuate, despite warnings about the storm.

Salvador and Mable Mangano, who owned St Rita's nursing home in St Bernard Parrish, could face up to five years in jail for each count. Meanwhile, a row has broken out between state and federal authorities, with the Louisiana governor, Kathleen Blanco, accusing the US government of stalling on a contract to pay for the retrieval of corpses.